Seasonal variation in septal spacing of Sepia officinalis and some Ordovician actinocerid nautiloids

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Abstract
Studies of cuttlebone of Sepia officinalis L. from the English Channel [UK] show a direct and linear correlation between ambient water temperature and septal spacing. The application of this observation to fossil shallow-water nautiloids and ammonoids is complicated by the equatorial habitat of many of these shells, their declining rate of chamber production through ontogeny and a paucity of large and complete specimens. But annual temperature variations are the most likely cause of variations in septal spacing a priori, temperature apparently being the prime determinant of feeding and growth rates of individuals at a particular ontogenetic stage.

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